Veterans & Family Support: Student Veteran and Military Unit Support

Student Veteran and Military Unit Support

In today’s world many veterans can face any number of obstacles while furthering their education. Many of them don’t know that the VFW offers scholarships to assist them financially with continuing or furthering their education for a better life style. It’s our job to support and promote these scholarships.

The VFW’s “Sport Clips Help A Hero Scholarship” provides service members and veterans with the financial assistance they need to complete their educational goals without incurring excessive student loan debt. It’s just another way to say “thank you” to those who fought for our freedoms. Applicants are currently being accepted through April 30, 2020 for the Fall 2020 semester. Visit the VFW website for scholarship details and eligibility requirements.

No one knows education benefits better than the VFW. After all, the VFW played a major role in the passage of the 1944 GI Bill of Rights, the Montgomery GI Bill Act of 1984 and the recent Post-9/11 GI Bill. To help ensure student veterans receive their benefits in a timely manner and have a place to turn to if they need help. The VFW, in conjunction with the Student Veterans of America (SVA), have developed the 1 Student Veteran program.

1 Student Veteran offers direct assistance to student veterans who have questions or are experiencing problems accessing their VA benefits. This program allows direct contact with VA Regional Offices across the country to provide our student veterans with timely and accurate answers regarding the complex claims process. Veterans who send an email to 1 Student Veteran will receive a timely replay from a VFW staff member who specializes in student veteran issues.

The Military Assistance Program, commonly known as MAP, is the outstretched hand between the local VFW and Auxiliary and the military community. A large part of MAP is the Adopt-a-Unit program, providing VFW Posts and their Auxiliaries the opportunity to adopt hundreds of military units around the world. If your VFW Post and/or Auxiliary is small and finds it difficult to adopt-a-unit, reach out to a Boy Scout or Girl Scout Troop, a church group, or other civic organization that would be willing to join your VFW Post and/or Auxiliary in the Adopt-a-Unit program. Think of the support a joint effort could offer.

I’m encouraged by the reports I receive from Auxiliaries throughout the nation that offer support to our troops day in and day out. Our members offer support to the military community in many different ways, whether that means helping military families get through long deployments or hosting send-off and welcome home events. You are amazing!